Every New Yorker has a dream apartment, located in their dream building, in their dream neighborhood. One that has it all: a convenient location, walkability, subway access, picturesque parks, the best restaurants, and of course, great apartments that fit your needs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a handful of nabes tend to consistently meet these criteria, and despite their familiarity, find new ways to charm us year after year.
With the launch of StreetScape™ in summer 2022, StreetEasy enabled apartment hunters to turn their longing into actionable information. StreetScape, housed within the StreetEasy iOS app, uses augmented reality to allow users to scan NYC residential buildings in person with their phone. If an orange diamond appears, the user can tap to see the building’s available sale and rental listings on StreetEasy, which they can learn more about or save for later. The feature is incredibly helpful for home shoppers looking to narrow down their search, get a firsthand feel for a unit’s surrounding area, or see if any apartments in their dream neighborhood, building, or block are available and a good fit for them. It’s like window shopping for real estate.
(NOTE: Use StreetScape to locate your dream home, take a screenshot, and share it to your Instagram Story to enter our StreetScape Sweepstakes by October 28 for chances to win $1,000 or StreetEasy swag! Be sure to include hashtag #streetscapesweepstakes and why you’d love to live there. See full instructions for how to enter here.)
So what are the most dreamed-about and sought-after neighborhoods? We used StreetEasy search data to determine which neighborhoods have had the most searches year-to-date in 2022 for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. In addition, we examined the most-searched neighborhoods from 2017 to 2022 and trends in their rankings during this period. Despite the ever-evolving NYC housing market, these neighborhoods have stood the test of time for a reason – and make for some great StreetScaping.
Manhattan: Where New Yorkers Dream Big
It’s no big surprise that Manhattan’s most-searched neighborhoods are also the dreamiest. Who wouldn’t want to live the boho-chic life in the West Village or Greenwich Village, be near the High Line in Chelsea, own a classic SoHo loft, or have a shot at getting a key to Gramercy Park?
As evident in the chart above, the West Village has topped our Manhattan most-searched list for five consecutive years. Its neighbor to the east, Greenwich Village, has also been consistently popular. The sales and rental markets in these neighborhoods are highly competitive, with median asking prices ($1.497M and $1.595M, respectively) and rents ($4,895 and $4,500) that were above the borough median this summer ($1.395M and $4,000). StreetScape comes in handy for seeing what’s available and in your budget, so you don’t fall too much in love with a home, building, or block that’s out of reach. Also, you never know when you’ll stumble upon a great deal!
Manhattan Rentals Under $4,000 on StreetEasy Article continues below
This month, why not see for yourself how much your dream block gets into the Halloween spirit? Check out Bleecker Street, Bank Street, Grove Court, Washington Place, or whatever catches your eye.
Chelsea, SoHo, and Gramercy Park also come with high price tags, so StreetScape can be useful to give yourself a reality check (or hunt for deals!) amid the dreaming. Chelsea can vary from block to block in terms of price and vibe, making it an apt neighborhood to window shop in person using the feature. The East Village – which fell off the top five this year – is typically packed with inventory, but don’t get overwhelmed: StreetScape can help you narrow down your options. And there’s no pressure, as you can easily save buildings or listings that interest you and come back to them later on StreetEasy.
Brooklyn: Where Old Meets New
It looks as though in Brooklyn, home shoppers have an affinity for both old-school charm and modern allure. Picturesque neighborhoods in Brooklyn’s “brownstone belt” like Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Fort Greene are all highly searched, while Williamsburg and its shiny waterfront high rises have been at the top of the list since 2019. Greenpoint, where historic ethnic enclave meets modern young professionals, entered the rankings this year.
Old or new, all of these neighborhoods had median asking prices and rents over the borough median ($975K and $3,299) this summer. However, StreetEasy economist Kenny Lee points out that these numbers don’t tell the whole story. “The borough still offers more cost-effective options for renters as well as buyers looking to purchase their first home. In Brooklyn, a typical starter home with at least one bedroom offered more square footage for each dollar than in Manhattan, making it an attractive alternative for young professionals hoping to put down roots in the city.”
Brooklyn Homes Under $975K on StreetEasy Article continues below
If you find a particularly charming block, building, or home in one of these neighborhoods, StreetScape it! (And while you’re at it, take a screenshot and make it an entry to the #StreetScapeSweepstakes for a chance to win.) See if your dream townhouse is for sale and what its asking price is, or check if a new development in Williamsburg or Greenpoint has condos, rentals, or both. If you want to act fast, you can go to a listing in the app and contact the listing agent right then and there. Otherwise, save it for later.
Even if your favorite block or building has no available listings, StreetScape can help you find one nearby that does. You could end up finding a hidden gem that you hadn’t considered before, and is an even better fit for you.
Queens: Where Popular Neighborhoods Can Still Be (Relatively) Affordable
Dreams can feel a bit closer to reality in Queens, where some of the most-searched neighborhoods have asking prices below $1M and rents less than $3K. Long Island City and Astoria were the top two in our analysis, but even these popular neighborhoods with more new developments had median asking prices below $800K this summer, and a median asking rent of $2,650 in Astoria (the borough median was $2,600).
In addition to Long Island City and Astoria, Sunnyside and Forest Hills have shown good staying power over the last five years. These two neighborhoods are more residential and had reasonable median asking prices ($420K and $418K, respectively) and rents ($2,300 and $2,395) this summer, below the borough median ($639K and $2,600). Jackson Heights made the top five in 2017 and 2018, another affordable nabe that is a bit more buzzy. This also reflects our recent analysis that New Yorkers are looking farther away from Manhattan in search of affordability. Despite being more expensive, Ridgewood entered the rankings in 2020, perhaps due to its growing popularity as an alternative to adjacent Bushwick, Brooklyn.
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There’s even more to love about the world’s borough. “Queens boasts all types of homes the city can offer. Gleaming high rises by the waterfront in Long Island City offer rentals with a convenient commute to Manhattan. And with the borough-wide median price per square foot at $608, first-time buyers can score a larger home in Queens, compared to Manhattan and Brooklyn,” says StreetEasy economist Kenny Lee. “For experienced homeowners, multi-family homes in Ridgewood provide an opportunity to live in an even bigger space, with an additional source of income through renting out the non-primary units.”
Using StreetScape to narrow down your search will save you a lot of time in Queens, which is NYC’s largest borough by area. Astoria in particular is quite large – it can be wise to stake out your favorite parts of the neighborhood first, and then use the feature to identify listings in these areas. Long Island City is full of new developments, with more seemingly popping up every day. Use StreetScape to see available sales and rentals in these buildings as you encounter them, and find out if they offer any unique or rare amenities that these developments are known for: pet grooming, indoor pools, bowling alleys, you name it. If you’re looking for some great architecture and want to feel like you’re not in Kansas anymore, head to Forest Hills, where blocks and blocks of Tudor-style houses and sprawling greenery create an almost whimsical vibe.
StreetScape is free to use within the StreetEasy iOS app. See our blog for detailed instructions on how to use the feature, and be sure to enter the #StreetScapeSweepstakes.